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Low Speed Chase Leads to Arrest of BC Man

An elderly Kathryn man was taken into custody Saturday night in an incident that involved a North Dakota Highway Patrolman brandishing a taser.
State trooper Ben Kennelly observed that a vehicle driven by Charles Olsberg, 75, of Kathryn, failed to dim its headlights to oncoming traffic. Kennelly activated his emergency lights in an attempt to pull Olsberg over, according to an affidavit filed with the Barnes County Clerk of Court's Office, but Olsberg continued on his way home, driving over 42 mph in a 25 mile per hour zone and swerving to avoid another vehicle.
When stopped, Kennelly gave Olsberg several verbal commands to shut off and exit the vehicle, informing him that he was under arrest for fleeing an officer. Olsberg said he wasn't going to jail, according to the affidavit, and physical attempts to remove Olsberg from the 1990 Ford he was driving failed. Olsberg reportedly reached for a hay bale hook hanging from the rearview mirror, which prompted Kennelly to draw his taser.
A request for assistance was sent out by Kennelly out over the radio, and help showed up in the form of Barnes County Sheriff's Deputy Scott Crump.
"I was near there so I flew over there and assisted (Kennelly)," Crump said. "They had a verbal disagreement, (Olsberg was) not complying with commands."
Olsberg was charged with driving under the influence, driving under suspension, fleeing a police officer and resisting arrest.
On Monday, Olsberg was set to face Judge Jay Schmitz, but refused to have Schmitz hear his case, opting to stay in jail until Judge John T. Paulson would hear it.
"He didn't like the judge. One thing or another, I don't know," said Sheriff Randy McClaflin.
Dustin Slaamod, an intern in the State's Attorney office, relayed the information to State's Attorney Lee Grossman during an interview on Monday morning, saying he was "kind of rude," to Judge Schmitz and would wait for Paulson to hear his case, presumably on July 24.
"So he's going to sit over there (in county jail) til the 24th?" Grossman asked Slaamod, who shrugged his shoulders and said "He wants to see Paulson; he doesn't want to deal with Jay."
On Monday afternoon, a jailer at the Barnes County Correctional Center said they were still unable to get a mugshot of Olsberg, whom they described as being "uncooperative."